Champaign County Clerk & Recorder

Swearing in from the Clerk and Recorder facebook page.

The office of Champaign County Recorder has officially merged with the County Clerk's office into the new office of the Champaign County Clerk & Recorder. The News-Gazette had a preview of how the merger was expected to play out last month:

Under changes approved by voters in April, Ingram’s job will be eliminated, the recorder’s office staff and functions will be rolled into the clerk’s office and County Clerk Aaron Ammons will become clerk and recorder on Jan. 1, 2022...

Ingram said the five staff members in the recorder’s office will remain in the same space at the Brookens Administrative Center in Urbana.

The chief deputy in the recorder’s office, Toni Ceaser, will supervise the recorder’s office and report to the chief deputy in the clerk’s office, Angela Patton.

That full article here. WCIA had coverage of the actual transition, reporting a software hiccup that may have been unrelated to the merger itself:

There was a minor slowdown early in the day. Long-time staff members said it was due to a software hiccup that was out of their control and resolved within a couple of hours...

The biggest thing to get used to is a new website. Ammons showed us the new, merged county clerk and recorder site. Now, filing and searching deed records are on the same page as other clerk services.

“People who are used to going to the current recorder of deeds website, they’ll get a little re-direct opportunity to click on,” Ammons said.

The old website will be available for another few weeks to ease the transition, he added.

More information and details about the overall transition and how the office operated through the handover from WCIA here (includes video segment).

The last Champaign County Recorder of Deeds, Mike Ingram, ran on a campaign of eliminating the office he was to be elected to. In his farewell message he included his background as a local musician and played some songs from the County's records vault (video available on his facebook page here).

County Government Updates

This post has some news updates related to County government and information on upcoming meetings this month. The updates have to do with the Champaign County Circuit Clerk's office outreach on cannabis expungement, the annual homeless population survey, and support for eliminating the office of the Recorder of Deeds.

The Circuit Clerk highlighted additional information people effected by State expungements may be unaware of. There is a push to reach out to folks who may have already benefited or could benefit locally. From WAND:

"We actually have a group of 500 cases where people may not be aware that their records have automatically been expunged," said Champaign County Circuit Clerk Susan McGrath. 

The list of individuals whose convictions were presented to the governor for potential pardons authorizing expungement has already been provided to Champaign County and granted by the Champaign County Court. For an individual who believes they fall into this category, they can get a copy of the order granting their expungement from the Office of the Champaign County Circuit Clerk and a certified docket sheet.

Those individuals can also contact the Circuit Clerk’s Office cccircuitclerk@co.champaign.il.us and provide their name, date of birth, address, cell phone number, case number and/or approximate date of conviction. They are encouraged to make this contact either in person or by email by March 1, 2021.

More details and helpful links at the full article here. The News-Gazette had more coverage here.

The annual point-in-time survey to track homeless people in the area took place last week. WAND had a brief overview:

The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, along with the Champaign County Continuum of Services Providers to the Homeless, mandates the Point-in-Time survey allowing homeless service providers to track progress made towards ending homelessness in the community.

Since July, the CSPH has added six new members, bringing the number of organizations involved to 35...

The data collected from the Point-in-Time count will track the needs of people experiencing homelessness and determine how to distribute the federal funding effectively.

More at that full article here. More information on the Champaign County Continuum of Services Providers to the Homeless is available on the Regional Planning Commission website here with meeting information on their webpage here.

The News-Gazette's editorial board is still on board with getting rid of the Recorder's office and so is the current office holder, former County Board member Mike Ingram. From WCIA:

Champaign County Recorder Mike Ingram ran a campaign to do away with his office. Now, he’s preparing a referendum to make that happen...

He says not much would change for employees in his office. The only major change would be that his staff works for a different department head.

Voters will be able to decide on whether or not to merge the two offices or keep them separate in April.

That full blurb here. News-Gazette editorial here. It may be one of the few things most people can agree on these days.

Upcoming Meetings:

There are County Board committee meetings coming up tonight and heading into next week (see the February meeting calendar here). Tonight is the Environment and Land Use Committee (agenda packet) and will be live streamed on the web and facebook. There will be the 2nd part of a 5 part series on waste management. From a previous Cheat Sheet post:

"[January 7th's] Environment and Land Use Committee (ELUC) had Part 1 of a 5 part presentation on waste management issues in the County (agenda here, waste presentation PowerPoint here, and video here). There was also an interesting overview of what the County has to do to get back in compliance on its "noxious weed" responsibilities."

The calendar has a key to the abbreviations, for example the VAC is the Veterans' Assistance Commission . The VAC's facebook page has regular updates on the work they're doing here.

County Board Roundup: Recorder, Appointments, Animal Control

This past week the County Board had a Committee of the Whole meeting, a special meeting, and a court ruling on appointments. The discussion and votes mostly revolved around appointments and a referendum on eliminating the County Recorder office by merging it with the County Clerk's office. There was also some discussion on the Animal Control office and its handling of euthanasia cases after a tragic mistake over Christmas.

The Committee of the Whole (video, agenda packet here) was a marathon meeting lasting nearly 5 hours. Most of the public comments revolved around the outrage of the Animal Control euthanasia error and some input on how best to eliminate the Recorder's office. The News-Gazette had an overview of the Recorder referendum approved a couple days later at the special meeting (video, agenda):

The long-debated question of whether Champaign County should eliminate the elected office of recorder of deeds is now set to head to voters.

At a special meeting Thursday night, the county board approved putting the question on the April 6 ballot.

Specifically, voters will be asked if the office of Champaign County recorder shall be eliminated, with all duties and responsibilities of that office being transferred to the county clerk’s office, at the end of this year.

Full article here with a brief overview of what the Recorder office does and how those duties are often part of a County Clerk's office in Illinois counties. Most of the discussion in this week's meetings revolved around the technical issues of how long it would take to transfer the responsibilities of the office and ultimately end the elected office overseeing it. A compromise for the end of this year won out in the end.

Of the long discussions and arguments about appointments, probably the most important point was that appointed positions are difficult to fill and the County needs more applicants and interest.

If you are interested in learning more and applying for a vacancy, start on the Board Appointments page: http://www.co.champaign.il.us/CountyExecutive/Appointments.php

The County Executive also has appointment news on the Executive's News page: http://www.co.champaign.il.us/CountyExecutive/countyexecnewsreleases.php

This page lists the different appointed bodies overseen by the Board. To find a current opening, start by clicking on the “Vacant Appointments” tab.

The appointments links on the County website can be a bit circular and confusing as the appointment authority has changed with the new County Executive form of government. This has been a subject of lawsuits, including the most recent ruling establishing the Executive as the clear appointment authority, with the County Board's authority to advise and consent to those nominations. The News-Gazette highlighted a potential hiccup with a recent vacancy appointment to the board itself:

Whether it will have any impact on the recent appointment of Cameron Raab to fill the other District 6 seat formerly held by Mike Ingram, who resigned after being elected county recorder of deeds in November, remains to be seen.

Kloeppel vetoed Raab’s appointment, but her veto was ignored and Raab was seated as a new board member.

Kloeppel said Friday she could potentially appoint Raab herself, or she could let her veto stand — in which case the board could override it — or she could contest the appointment, though that would require going back to court.

That full article with more details and background here. Other appointment discussions included more legal technicalities about statutory requirements for partisan balance on the Board of Review (an overview of the Board of Review is available at a previous Cheat Sheet post here).

The discussion on the Animal Control Department didn't result in any substantive votes or changes, but there have been a couple updates in the local news about new protocols to hopefully prevent any further errors and allay concerns with the public. Illinois Newsroom had an overview of the discussions and copies of memos on the subject:

Both County Executive Darlene Kloeppel and Animal Control director Stephanie Joos issued memos reporting on the incident (they can be seen below, following this article). In her report, Joos said she’s taken steps to prevent future mistakes. Because there was confusion over the description of Dada, additional fields have been added to the department’s loss report form, so staff can provide more details. And kennel cages at the department’s pound will have additional signs showing the status of each animal.

“These new measures have been implemented to assure this will not happen again,” Joos wrote in the memo.

That full article here. WCIA had additional coverage with a short video segment here.

Merging County Clerk and Recorder

An issue that has come up again, and comes up frequently at the County government over the years, is whether to merge the two elected primary record keeping offices of the County government, the Clerk and Recorder. This isn't just a local topic. Illinois has numerous overlapping and divided local government entities that divide power, but also raise concerns about waste and redundancy. From a Chicago Sun-Times opinion piece describing the situation in the State last year:

Some Illinois government officials are facing tough budgets and flat revenues, and they know turning to taxpayers for more won’t work. So what do they do? In many counties, the answer has been: Consolidation.

Somewhat under the radar, 87 out of 102 counties in Illinois have merged the recorder of deeds office with the county clerk’s office. Another three are working toward it, including Cook County, Winnebago County and McHenry County. Adams County did it in 2004. Tazewell in 2012. McLean in 2013 and Peoria in 2016. In all of those counties, the move was preceded by voters approving the mergers.

Full article here. Recently the issue came up locally with an attempt to merge the office by Democratic County Board members while it was generally opposed by Republicans and a Republican currently holds the County Recorder office (Cheat Sheet post here). Consolidation would result in a single County Clerk office as it is a required County government office under the Illinois Constitution, while the Recorder office is optional. That last recent attempt to consolidate locally failed. From the News-Gazette after the vote:

In July 1968, Democrats on the Champaign County Board proposed eliminating the independent elected position of recorder of deeds.

The elimination never happened.

Exactly 50 years later, another generation of county board Democrats proposed the same thing.

And once again, it won't happen.

On Thursday night, the county board voted 15-7 against putting a question on the November ballot asking for the elimination of the office.

Five Democrats joined all 10 Republicans to ensure the status quo.

That full article is available here with some the details about cost savings versus concerns about keeping the office independent as well as some of the political and partisan realities. The latest push comes from County Board member Mike Ingram who has announced a run for the County Recorder seat in 2020 with a commitment towards the elimination of the office. From WILL:

The Champaign Democrat, first elected to the county board in 2016, holds a variety of freelance jobs, in music, music booking and teaching.

But Ingram said he has the leadership skills to oversee the recorder office’s staff, while leading a campaign to pass a referendum to eliminate the elected recorder’s post. Such a referendum could be placed on the ballot by the Champaign County Board, or a voter petition...

Ingram said Champaign County might save about $100,000 a year by having the county clerk oversee the recorder’s office, and eliminating the post of the elected recorder of deeds. He added that even if consolidating requires hiring an additional staff member, that person could be paid less than the elected recorder, and still result in savings for the county. Ingram says the person overseeing the recorder’s office doesn’t need to have the specialized skills of the staff, and so doesn’t have to be the recorder at all...

Most of Illinois’s 102 counties elect a combined clerk-recorder, according to a directory maintained on the website of by the Illinois Association of County Clerks and Recorders. That directory shows 18 counties, including Champaign, that have separate county clerks and recorders. But at least three of those—Madison, Winnebago and Illinois’ most populous county, Cook—will be consolidating the two offices soon, due to recent voter referendums...

But Ingram said he thinks the idea of merging the county recorder and clerk’s offices would gain more support if there was someone in the recorder’s office who supported the idea.

Full WILL article is available here. The News-Gazette's editorial board came out in favor of consolidating the offices in an editorial the last time this issue came up here. They've been supporting the idea for years, however. Here's another opinion piece in favor of consolidations two years before that here.

County Board 7/19

Reminder: Last month's County Board meeting is available on video now at the County Clerk's YouTube channel for those waiting for it. This month's video is already up and available here.

Last night's County Board meeting saw another failure to consolidate the County Recorder's office into the Champaign County Clerk's office.  From today's News-Gazette:

Champaign County Board votes to keep recorder around
In July 1968, Democrats on the Champaign County Board proposed eliminating the independent elected position of recorder of deeds.

The elimination never happened.

Exactly 50 years later, another generation of county board Democrats proposed the same thing.

And once again, it won't happen.

On Thursday night, the county board voted 15-7 against putting a question on the November ballot asking for the elimination of the office.

Five Democrats joined all 10 Republicans to ensure the status quo...

In other business, county board member Robert King said he will be resigning because he is moving to upstate New York, where he will work with students at Cornell University in residential programs there.

"I absolutely have enjoyed my time on the county board," King said. "I had a chance to work both with folks with the same opinions and differing opinions, and it has been great."

Full article here. According to the County Clerk, County Board member Shana Jo Crews, a Democrat representing District 9 also resigned last night. This page will be updated soon to reflect those changes and any appointment or election updates that result.


Meeting overview:

Public participation started with a couple Scottswood development residents pleading for more assistance in cleaning up their neighborhood. Two citizens explained their efforts towards encouraging better maintenance and organizing a low cost neighborhood mowing service to help those efforts.

County Recorder Mark Shelden made his argument to keep his office elected and separate from the County Clerk's office. He argued that his office is running effectively as is and the proposed changes couldn't be absorbed as explained by proponents of consolidation. He explained that simply replacing him with a lower paid staffer wouldn't work unless quality was reduced or other responsibilities of the County Clerk and staff suffered. Meanwhile the Democratic County Executive candidate Darlene Kloepel argued it made fiscal sense and was an unnecessary complication and expense for voters.

The Reentry Council Report was filed without any significant discussion. Member Petrie noted that she had some additional questions she'd be taking up with the Council. That report is available here on page 14 of the agenda packet PDF (page 9 on the printed version).

The Agenda items were generally passed unanimously and with little significant discussion outside of the Recorder's Office vote. The other exception was an question and answer session with a guest from the Regional Planning Commission about a criminal justice related grant and program (that required Board approval to go ahead). There weren't a lot of specifics yet as the project will be entering the planning phase in the near future. Board members pushed for specifics, but the RPC representative only had broad information at this time. The general consensus was that this was an important and positive victory for the County and appreciation was noted for the hard work behind the competitive grant process (RPC is only one of 41 organizations awarded the reentry funds). The program description (from the agenda XIV. New Business, Item 4.) lays out the general idea:

Multi-Year Federal Funding to Service Over 188 Young Adults Ages 18-24 Who Reside in High Crime & Poverty Census Tract Areas in Probation, Court or Detention or are High School Dropouts. Based on the Needs of the Target Population for the Project, Evidence-Based Interventions and Practices will be Implemented Including Cognitive Behavioral Therapy, Structural Psychotherapy for Adolescents Responding to Chronic Stress, Intensive Mentoring & Development of Support Groups, Job Coaching and On-the-Job Training and Development of Apprenticeships in Building Trades. RPC & Community Partners will Utilize a Positive Youth Justice Framework that will Guide Development of Career Plans and Case Management to Positively Impact Employment and Reduce Recidivism Rates with High-Risk Young Adults.

More updates on this program as I find them.

There was an item authorizing more appropriations for litigation costs with the Carle Property Tax issue. Petrie and Administrator Busey discussed the complexities that prevent a full accounting of the County Costs as the issue is intergovernmental and multifaceted. There doesn't appear to be a way to track to compare costs to potential gain back to the county if successful.

The Recorder vote had a quick amendment attempt to change the starting date of the change to the end of the election cycle for the office (2020 instead of 2018 in the current wording for the referendum). That failed in a tie vote 11-11. The motion itself failed 7 to 15. I believe the yes votes were Patterson, Summers, Tinsley, Crews, Douglass, Fortado, and Chair Weibel. I was expecting a bit more argument, but folks seem to have gotten that mostly out of their system last month.

McGuire thanked all those who volunteer and work on the elections in relation to their approval of Election Judge appointments. They truly make this whole crazy democratic institution function. 

Petrie thanked Deputy Administrator Ogden for all her hard work on the ADA report to the Department of Justice (with additional information available at the very end of the agenda packet).

The Board went into closed session about a county employee/employment issue prior to adjourning.

County Board and the Recorder Preview

Whether or not the County Recorder's office is superfluous and its duties made part of the County Clerk's office doesn't seem like a political question. Would it be cheaper? Yes. The office is self-funded now and would be if it was happening under the Clerk's office too. There's an honest discussion to be had on whether having a separately elected head of the office is necessary or just more complications in local governance. But the seat is held by a long time Champaign County Republican Party politician and party player. These types of seats are often used by political parties to springboard careers. Each party's partisans will happily explain how they're being the rational and objective ones here.

I leave it to the reader to decide whether one side, the other, or both are playing politics. More importantly: whether it's relevant to the key question of whether they find the extra elected office necessary to ensure the Recorder honestly performs his duties, or whether holding the County Clerk accountable would be sufficient. Use the links on this page to your County Board members to let them know how you feel. From the News-Gazette today:

Round 3: Recorder’s job back on agenda
...
Tonight, the board is expected to vote on whether to put a binding question on the November ballot asking voters if the recorder’s office should be rolled into the county clerk’s by December.

That’s a change from the original proposal, which called for nixing the office in 2020 — the end of Recorder Mark Shelden’s four-year term.

Shelden, a Republican, said his office funds itself through recording fees. He added that he knows of only a couple of people who support the change.

This will mark the third time in five years that the board has considered this measure. Democrat Shana Jo Crews, who could not be reached for comment, is leading this push.

When the subject came up at a board meeting last month, Republican member Jon Rector called it “borderline ridiculous” and “totally political.”

Interim County Administrator Deb Busey said eliminating the position would save $60,000. Busey said only 13 other Illinois counties — including Vermilion — have a recorder.

The full blurb is available here. The County Board meets tonight at 6:30pm (agenda here). If you'd like to attend a County Board meeting, you can find more information on how to attend here. Probably one of the more contentious items is the referendum proposal to merge the County Recorder's office into the County Clerk's office. The current Recorder is Mark Shelden, prominent in Champaign County Republican Party politics, so there are concerns by Republicans that this is more political than reformative. The vote to put it on the ballot was delayed and discussed at the last regular County Board meeting.

UPDATE: From the News-Gazette after the vote:

In July 1968, Democrats on the Champaign County Board proposed eliminating the independent elected position of recorder of deeds.

The elimination never happened.

Exactly 50 years later, another generation of county board Democrats proposed the same thing.

And once again, it won't happen.

On Thursday night, the county board voted 15-7 against putting a question on the November ballot asking for the elimination of the office.

Five Democrats joined all 10 Republicans to ensure the status quo.

That full article is available here with some the details about cost savings versus concerns about keeping the office independent as well as some of the political and partisan realities.

UPDATE: 10/22/2019: The issue appears to be coming up again with the 2020 election. More on consolidation at a recent post here: Merging County Clerk and Recorder

The Week in Progress 7/15 - 7/21

*** There is a County Board meeting this Thursday. Agenda here. If you'd like to attend a County Board meeting, you can find more information on how to attend here. The issue of merging the County Recorder's office into the County Clerk's office is on the agenda. ***

Previous County Board video is available now on the Champaign County Clerk's YouTube channel here. Agenda packet available here and news coverage here.


Other Events:

There are a lot of political campaign and organizing events popping up. Check out your preferred candidates and you will likely see campaign, canvassing, or voter registration events in the area. Many are using facebook to more easily share event information and reminders. Check out the Champaign County Voter Alliance's preliminary general election candidate guide to see who is running. We'll be updating County race information from the primary election to the general as we can.
 
Groups that crossover with Racial Justice Task Force recommendations meeting this week:

Build Programs Not Jails doesn't meet this week. Meetings are every other Wednesday at 7pm at the IMC. The next meeting is July 25th.

Later this month — likely at the July 24th Champaign City Council Study Session (more info here) — there will likely be a presentation on the housing issue and the exemption (more information on that here and a recent letter to the editor by the CU Tenants Union here). Support among local organizations continues to grow. The Reentry Council will be reaffirming its long standing support of the measure as well (notes from their last meeting on it here).

The Housing Authority of Champaign County's new Executive Director reaffirmed the board's focus on expanding reentry opportunities in the community and the problems exacerbated when people with conviction histories are denied access to housing. He pointed out that HACC is still working with the Champaign County Reentry Council towards that end and he is reaching out to community organizations and government bodies in the area to work together on that and other issues.

County Calendar:

The week kicks off Wednesday with the Technology Oversight Committee. I don't have any information on exactly what this committee does. I believe it may be more of a management committee for computers and IT issues for staff in the various county facilities. More information to come on that.

There is a County Board meeting this Thursday. Agenda here. If you'd like to attend a County Board meeting, you can find more information on how to attend here. Probably one of the more contentious items is the referendum proposal to merge the County Recorder's office into the County Clerk's office. The current Recorder is Mark Shelden, prominent in Champaign County Republican Party politics, so there are concerns by Republicans that this is more political than reformative. The vote to put it on the ballot was delayed and discussed at the last regular County Board meeting.

The GIS Policy Committee meets Friday. The GIS talks maps and data, orthophotography, sewage systems, water permeability of soil and drainage and the intricate systems that allow a consortium of city and county governments, as well as private companies needing data. For more information about the GIS and what a meeting is like, check out this write up.

The full 2018 schedule is on the Calendar page and the County page. The regular County Board meetings are back to Thursdays until next holiday season.

If you're curious about learning more about how your county government works, it's easy enough to live stream a meeting or go in person: Attend a Meeting.

*Meeting is broadcast live on Comcast Public Access and at http://www.ustream.tv/channel/champco1776

Where is Brookens?

Brookens Administrative Center
1776 East Washington Street
Urbana, Illinois 61802-4581
Phone: 217-384-3772

After 4:30 the Washington Street side Parking Lot is Closed See Maps for the North East Parking Lot Access

Committee of the Whole 6/12

 
In the wake of the Champaign County Nursing Home vote to sell last month, this meeting was far less contentious (and shorter). The video is available on the County Clerk's YouTube Channel here. Here's a quick write up:

Public Participation:
Claudia Lenhoff of the Champaign County Health Care Consumers asked the board, and the general public watching, to ensure the terms and conditions of the county nursing home sale are upheld, including it's capacity and employee protections.

Mark Sheldon of the Recorder's office spoke against a referendum being put on the ballot to merge the County Recorder's Office into the County Clerk's Office. He argues that it is better to keep it independent and accountable. He made arguments along cost and impact to services to support his opposition. [UPDATE: The News-Gazette argued that it should be merged afterward in an editorial column here.]

Communications:
Jon Rector spoke up about his frustration with the tornado sirens not sounding with two funnel clouds. He was not satisfied with the explanation by the director of the Emergency Management Agency that it technically was within protocol not to without more verification. McGuire thanked the first responders.

Petrie asked interim Administrator Busey to go over the details of the Nursing Home process regarding the terms and conditions Lenhoff  had raised in Public Participation.

Marsh highlighted the upcoming aquifer meeting in Mahomet Monday, June 18th at the High School auditorium at 10am (expected to go to noon or possibly later). They will be discussing possible legislation to protect the aquifer over the gas leak controversy.

King highlighted a couple Juneteenth events on the weekend.

General Agenda Items:
The rest of the agenda started with a change. The Rosecrance agreement to be considered wasn't ready yet and rescheduled. They then moved on to submitting reports by the committees.

There were several appointments approved (see agenda packet for details) without opposition and more reports submitted.

There was a motion to defer the recorder consolidation vote until next month. The reason appeared to be a need for more research according to Stohr. McGuire asked why given other pressing needs to drag the vote out that's come up in the past. Crews, who asked to put it on the agenda is absent today. Stohr asked to wait for her. Rector called it borderline ridiculous and political that it even got put on the agenda. He asked to get this over with. Summers argued for letting the voters decide finally. Anderson said he was in favor of keeping the Recorder office and questioned the need for a referendum since this doesn't save or cost the voters any fee or tax. He said there haven't been any complaints or problems for a need to have a referendum.

They had a roll call vote to vote on the matter or continue discussion of the recorder merging... that was very confusing. I couldn't tell if the 2nd vote was to clarify what people were voting for or another vote. The end result was that the vote was deferred to the next county board meeting in July (not the one next week).

Two budget amendments passed for the Regional Planning Commission to use new grant funding for their housing programs. Questions for the RPC (Petrie raised some) will be addressed later on the program by a representative from the RPC.

The Treasurer's report sounded less dire with recent tax revenues coming in and less future concern about the Nursing Home. An upcoming property sale has the interest of Nasty Joe and will be highlighted in the local press (link to the WCIA coverage here). To jump to the Treasurer's explanation of the upcoming Delinquent Tax Auction and Surplus Sale (in response to costs related to that sale) click this link here in the meeting video. Petrie had a question about whether the properties could be used for housing programs, but the Treasurer explained that they're not up to the standards (often being trashed, condemned or mobile homes more valuable as scrap, etc).

The Auditor submitted her report. Petrie had the only question on the Nursing Home population (roughly 140). The Clerk answered a couple quick questions about a state grant that helps pay for support of the voter registration system. Approval of the "acceptance agreement" to get the grant passed.

The Nursing Home report by the interim Administrator showed improvement for the month after a couple "lousy months" as Weibel described them. Goss had some technical questions on the Accounts Receivable (AR) issues of being on the books and the money that the County is owed by the Nursing Home. The interim Administrator said that the details would be dealt with more specifically in a future contract with SAK (a financial contract in addition to their management contract).

The Administrator report mentioned they received an award in recognition for distinguished budgeting. The deputy administrator then went through various budget details. The salary and insurance recommendations for non-bargaining County employees were approved. The interim Administrator explained the thinking behind the numbers, such as inflation and comparison to other workers asked by Fortado.

No other business. Fortado's Finance Chair's report asked for input from everybody towards the upcoming budget work. Offered to come to members' districts and hear concerns and ideas. Petrie suggested everyone meet in retreat fashion so everybody can learn about each other's districts. One on one only advantages to the finance chair alone (as opposed to all members benefiting).

Weibel pointed out that there aren't usually extraneous meetings in July and pointed out that many will be canceled and a Committee of the Whole will not be held. There may still be a zoning board meeting due to Solar Farm concerns, but that's not confirmed yet.